Lex Med Blog

When was the last time you had your blood pressure checked? Did you know that relaxation exercises help your heart? What’s the proper way to perform CPR? Come to Lexington Medical Center’s FREE interactive Heart Fair on Sunday, March 1 from 12:00–4:00 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 2100 Bush River Road in Columbia to learn about your heart health. The event is free and open to the public.

Find out how to reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease by participating in free activities, such as massage therapy, healthy food tastings, blood pressure screenings, Citizen CPR lessons and relaxation training. You’ll discover the latest cardiovascular technologies used in diagnostic, interventional and surgical procedures. You can also hear from Lexington Medical Center physicians and clinicians as they discuss heart-health topics. The Heart Fair includes activities for children, too. Kids can learn how to grow vegetables and begin spring planting.

The Heart Fair marks the culmination of Lexington Medical Center’s “Take 5 for Heart Health” campaign, encouraging community members to take time for their heart health with five key elements: Eat Right, Chill Out, Get Moving, Call 911 and Know the Facts. Lexington Medical Center partnered with Midlands businesses to provide free heart health events including exercise classes and stress relief activities throughout the month of February.

The idea was to educate our community about heart health and encourage people to lead a heart-healthy life through exercise, education and minimizing stress. Heart disease is an epidemic in South Carolina. One out of every three deaths in our state is related to cardiovascular disease.

The campaign also included Lexington Medical Center’s 2015 heart commercial. The 60 second spot, produced entirely in-house by Lexington Medical Center, personifies a heart attack and illustrates the stories of three heart attack victims. View the commercial below.

For more information on Lexington Medical Center’s Heart Fair, visit www.LexMed.com/Take5.

When someone is having a heart attack, clinicians say it’s best to Call 9-1-1 for an ambulance instead of driving the person to the hospital yourself. That’s because there are tools in the ambulance that can begin treatment before arrival at the hospital. While you’re waiting for the paramedics, you can perform CPR. In this “Take 5 for Heart Health” segment from WIS-TV, LMC ER nurse Shannon Turner talks about the important information an ambulance can transmit to the ER when a patient is on the way and clinical nursing supervisor Lindsey Sturkie demonstrates the proper way to perform CPR.

Here are a few notes from Shannon and Lindsey:

~Calling 9-1-1 brings the emergency providers to you. Paramedics can assess the patient, perform an EKG and start the treatment that the hospital will continue.

~Paramedics send EKG results from the ambulance to the ER and call in a radio report with patient symptoms and vital signs. Then, the ER can alert the catheterization lab and cardiologists about the patient’s upcoming arrival. With heart care, every minute counts. Time is muscle.

~To perform CPR, put one hand on the middle of the chest at the bottom of the rib bone. Place your other hand on top, linking your fingers. Press down hard – 2 inches – at a rate of 100 compressions per minute. A proper pace would be to the tune of the song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. Experts say that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or checking the pulse are no longer required.

~CPR will help to open and close the heart valves and chambers until paramedics arrive.

If you would like to learn Citizen CPR, come to Lexington Medical Center’s FREE Heart Fair on Sunday, March 1 from Noon – 4:00 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton on Bush River Road. Learn more at LexMed.com/Take5.

Stress can hurt our hearts. That’s why important to learn ways that we can “Chill Out!” Mark Stout of Lexington Medical Center Cardiac Rehabilitation talked about stress management in this “Take 5 for Heart Health” segment on WIS-TV with Dawndy Mercer Plank.

A few important notes from Mark:

~Stress can cause your blood vessels to constrict and become smaller, and ultimately cause a heart attack.

~Realize that everyone has some type of stress in their life. But if you carry it around with you, it can be harmful.

~Identify the stressors in your life.

~Find a way to relax and manage stress: deep breathing, yoga, meditation, listening to soft music or exercise are great examples.

Learn more about managing stress at our FREE Heart Fair on Sunday, March 1 from Noon – 4:00 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton on Bush River Road. Learn more at LexMed.com/Take5